Final Fantasy XIII Day In, Day Out

**Full Summary: A year after Cocoon was saved, Hope and Vanille died, and Fang gave her life for mankind, Lightning, Snow, Serah, and everyone else start over. With pregnancies, wild affairs, scandals, breakups, and hookups, who knows what could happen in the world of New Bodhum. Will include yaoi, yuri, and most likely, lemons. Gadot, Lebreau, Maqui, and Yuj will be in the story as main characters!**

**Authoress' Note: Yay! First chappie to the sequel of "Love is Like a Square!" Several people were unsatisfied with the epilogue, so I hope this will redeem any respect lost. I hope y'all enjoy!**

**Beta'd by Scraggles****!**

**To prevent any confusion, here are the ages of everyone at this point in time:**

**Lightning: 23 Maqui: 19 Lebreau: 21**

**Serah: 20 Yuj: 19—I decided to keep his age as it was in the game for creative purposes**

**Snow: 23 Gadot: 23**

**I'll update this list if more characters appear! For now, this is all.**

**Anywho, I hope you enjoy this first chappie!**

**Leave a review! Constructive criticism always welcome!**

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><p><em><strong>Day One; YujLightning**_

"…And so she says 'You shouldn't be doing those kinds of things so late, mister! What do you plan on doing with your life, son?' And so I started laughing so hard! I guess the alcohol hit me the wrong way!" Yuj exclaimed—nearly shouted—out of nervousness. From across the table, he saw Lightning pushing around the food on her plate, not once looking up at him. He frowned before continuing, "Then there was this giant monkey, and it tried to eat me." This he stated flatly, blatantly devoid of emotion. Regardless of the incredulity of his words, Lightning didn't so much as blink.

The sheer, unsettling grating of abusive metal against a fine china plate was all that could be heard in the too-quiet air. Yuj went quiet, mulling over how to handle his situation. Lightning, seemingly not paying attention to anything other than her own thoughts, also stayed silent.

Clearing his throat nervously, Yuj reached across the table and lightly grasped Lightning's thin wrist, efficiently stopping her subconscious, erratic movements. Finally, the woman looked up at Yuj, her solemn eyes delivering a harsh sting to Yuj's chest. "Are you not enjoying yourself?" The hurt and sorrow behind his words was nearly tangible. Lightning didn't know how much work he'd had to do to ensure their date could happen in complete privacy. He had to plead with the boss, work countless hours, to get the newly built restaurant all to himself—well, and Lightning, of course. Yuj had been hoping against all hope that Light would have at least a little fun, forget about Hope's death, look forward to something, but it didn't seem that was going to happen in the near future.

Lightning continued to look into Yuj's eyes for a silent second. Not saying another word, she violently ripped her wrist away from Yuj's grasp, as if burned. She dropped her gaze. Millions of thoughts overwhelmed her once more and she was in a trance, separated from the rest of society in that moment.

Slouching in his chair, Yuj crossed his arms angrily over his chest. "Do you know how much I went through to get this place to ourselves? I had to…" Lightning blocked out the incessant tone of his voice as he went on about everything he had to do to make sure Lightning had the _best night of her life_.

He did the same thing every time—try to wow her, that is. This had been the third date the two had been on. She wasn't sure why, but Lightning couldn't say no to Yuj each time he'd ask "When will we next meet?" Something inside her told her to go on, to try and fall in love with the boy. Her mind shouted at her to just move on, that life existed beyond Hope. In her heart, she knew it was all a lie. Everyone told her the same thing; _You have to move on_. No one knew the pain of losing a lover, _no one_. Especially Yuj. She knew he was trying his damnedest to help her on her journey, but she didn't want help. She didn't want to forget about Hope. It was dishonoring to forget a loved one, no matter how far gone they were.

"…You'll have to get over Hope sooner or later. Why not sooner, Lightning?" Yuj asked, exasperated. The mention of Hope caused Lightning's ears to perk up. Blue orbs bore into those of her 'date,' urging him to explain himself. Malice was written plainly across her face at the realization of his words. "You're only holding yourself back! You're living with your younger sister, for Maker's sake! I think… I think it's time you put the past behind you."

"That's none of your business," Lightning seethed. "Nor is it any of your concern. I agreed to date you. Isn't that enough for you? Do you want more from me? What do you want from me, _Yuj_?" The way she spat his name, as if it were acid on her tongue, made him wince.

Sighing, Yuj steeled himself. "I want you to be happy."

Tears burned Lightning's eyes.

_I want you to be happy…_

The words rang through her head, echoing, over and over, until she thought her eardrums were going to explode. It was something that Hope would have said. She'd been sure he had said it at some point. Then, she mentally slapped herself for having forgotten anything Hope said. If only she had known that he was to leave her so soon, she would have tried so much harder to remember everything about Hope, everything thing he whispered in her ear, everything he did to make her heart flutter.

_I want you to be happy..._

Angrily, Lightning wiped at her eyes until she was sure no tears would fall. Without looking back at Yuj, she stood from her seat and stormed out of the establishment. As soon as she pushed through the double doors of the entrance, she began running. The feel of crisp, cool night air skimming across her bare arms and legs sent chills up her spine and had every nerve tingling as she sprinted across the beach, the thick rubber soles of her ever-present boots trudging through wet sand as she made her way to her 'home.'

By the time she reached the Villiers' residence, the moon was high in the sky, shining brightly. The odd illumination cast by the white globe in the sky gave an eerie feel to the ground below. Lightning was drawn to the moonlight's reflection on the surface of the ocean. In the pushing, pulling, waters, she saw twinkling stars shining, shining. The sounds of the tide coming in, going out, calmed Lightning in a way she hadn't ever thought possible; it was practically instantaneous. For a while, she stared into the ocean waters, just watching. She didn't think; didn't worry about anything. The weight of several burdens was lifted from her shoulders as she gazed into the depths of the ocean.

Her breathing slowed slightly. The tension in her arms, legs, back, released. The relief made Lightning sigh out loud, softly. Then, it was just her and the open ocean, the moon serving as the only witness that night. A small smile formed on her lips for the first time in more than a year.

With her lips quirked upward, she realized that maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.

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><p><em><strong>Day One; Serah<strong>_

_You'll be fine… Everything will be fine!_

Sand dusted the air in small peppered clouds behind Serah as she walked along the New Bodhum coastline. Hands clasped in front of her stomach, she twiddled her thumbs nervously. Ahead of her, Lebreau's newly rebuilt café shone as a beacon in the darkened area. Hundreds of twinkling lights were strung from tree to tree all around the establishment. The closer Serah got, the more her stomach twisted and churned in anxiety. A million thoughts raced in her mind, all about one thing. She wasn't sure about it all, but if what she thought was true, she knew she'd have a lot ahead of her.

As the champagne blonde stepped through the threshold of the outdoor bar, Lebreau looked up at Serah and smiled broadly. The woman had a dirty rag in her hand, looking like she'd been cleaning for hours. Seeing the serious look on Serah's face, she set the towel down and walked out from behind the bar. "What can I do for you, Serah?" she asked as she pulled the unsuspecting girl into a motherly embrace. "Is something wrong?"

"Um, well…" Serah trailed off, her voice small and shy. She didn't want to worry Lebreau if this turned out to be nothing. Inside, she knew Lebreau was the only person she could talk to in such a situation, and that's why she found herself in such a place.

Lebreau pulled away from Serah and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You can talk to me about anything, you know?"

The sincerity in the bartender's voice made Serah want to cry her eyes out. The woman was so kind-hearted. Serah didn't know how she herself deserved such a caring friend. Lebreau raised an eyebrow at Serah's bashful behavior and laughed lightly. "Is this about you and Snow _getting it on_?"

A flush lit up Serah's porcelain face at the implications of Lebreau's statement. "No… It's…" Looking around, Serah noted several pairs of eyes glancing in their direction. "Can we talk somewhere more private?"

Lebreau looked at her, face softening. She nodded at Serah and led her toward the staff lounge. No one was inside, thankfully. Just to be safe, Lebreau twisted the lock on the inside of the door. Turning to Serah, she asked, "What's wrong? I'll try to help in any way possible!"

Tears began to fall from Serah's crystal blue eyes, slowly at first. Soon, her crying turned into bawling. She wrapped her arms around Lebreau's waist and continued to sob into her shoulder, saying nothing. All Lebreau could do was pat her on the back soothingly and whisper encouragements of "everything will be okay."

Several minutes passed before Serah's breathing calmed enough for her to talk. Hesitantly, she pried herself from her friend. Wiping her eyes sadly, she looked up at Lebreau. "I-I mi-ight be pr-pregnant," Serah stuttered, hiccupping every other word. She tried to steady her breaths. The urge to break down all over again was overwhelming, but she choked back the knot forming in her throat.

Lebreau was speechless at first. Serah, pregnant? Not possible. Gathering her bearings, she pulled Serah into another hug. The two stayed like that, arms wrapped around each other for several moments. Silence filled the air, the sounds of breathing filling the empty space. Finally, Lebreau pulled away, hands resting reassuringly on Serah's shoulders. "Why would you think that, Serah?"

Looking into Lebreau's eyes, Serah spoke, "I haven't had my period in over two months. It's the only thing I could think of." She paused, gauging her friend's reaction. Not sensing any reply coming soon, she admitted, "I'm scared."

Lebreau stayed silent.

"I don't know what to do!" Serah yelled in desperation. "What do I do?"

"Before you tell Snow, you should take a pregnancy test. You don't yet know if you're really pregnant. It could be anything, Serah," Lebreau advised calmly, not wanting to scare the nervous woman in front of her.

Serah sniffed pitifully. "What if Snow doesn't want it?"

Wide-eyed, Lebreau stared incredulously at Serah. "What the hell are you talking about? Snow is always talking about how he wants a big family." Smiling encouragingly, she said, "I know he'll be excited!"

Nodding with renewed hope, Serah perked up a bit. "You're right. He'll be so happy…" Closing her eyes, Serah breathed deeply. "All I want is for him to be happy."

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><p>Serah never, in a million years, thought buying a pregnancy test would be as awkward as it was for her. It helped that Lebreau was with her, sure, but that didn't help the situation much. She'd never been in to buy condoms before, but she gained some sort of respect for Snow and all men that had to do an equally awkward thing. Who knows how worse that could have been.<p>

And the look that the cashier gave her—and Lebreau—was one Serah never wanted to see again. Even hours later, she could remember the look of blatant disgust clear in the cashier's eyes as he took in her entire appearance. She knew she couldn't have looked her best. After bawling for just about ever, it was hard to look 'glowing and youthful.' She looked a wreck, and she knew it. But even that couldn't have been enough for_ that_ look.

Under hooded eyes, the man at the register looked her up and down, took in her bloodshot eyes. Then he looked at Lebreau, eyebrows raised. His lips moved, forming incomprehensible words. The way he looked at Serah just screamed, "Slut on aisle three, slut on aisle three."

And she couldn't handle it.

She ran from the pharmacy like a total wuss. She cried the whole way home, too, to make matters worse. With tear-stained cheeks, she had to answer the door shortly after, as well, and apologize to Lebreau for leaving her in such an embarrassing situation.

"Do you want me to stay?" Lebreau asked softly, afraid that if she spoke with a harsher tone, the poor girl would break.

Serah shook her head. "No, I think I need to be alone right now. I'll call you after I find out, okay?" She smiled lightly as she said this, trying to reassure Lebreau. She didn't want people worrying about her, especially if this turned out to be nothing at all.

Lebreau nodded and closed the door, albeit hesitantly.

Serah was alone in the house. The thought scared her a little. Snow was gone quite often, having to work several hours of overtime just to support himself, Serah, and Lightning. Even Lightning was gone, and she usually sat around the house feeling sorry for herself. But she wasn't there. Serah could do whatever she wanted and no one would ever find out about it. She smiled broadly.

_Anything I want?_

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Slightly afraid, she looked at the bag in her hands. All of a sudden, it felt a thousand pounds heavier than it just had. Gulping down the lump forming in her throat, Serah trudged through many hallways until she reached Snow's and her shared bedroom. Serah closed the door and made sure to lock it. Breathing deeply, she made her way to her bathroom.

With shaking hands Serah opened the box containing the pregnancy test. She stared at the stick still in the tiny box, unmoving. Sighing heavily, she reached into the box.

Over an hour later, Serah laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Subconsciously, she placed a hand on her stomach.

_Snow… our family is finally here._

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><p><strong><em>Day Two; Snow<em>**

The sound of hammers pounding against nails filled the warm morning air. Metal scraping against metal shrieked loudly, the sound deafening to the workers within hearing range. The early-rising sun beat down on the sweaty backs of several workers as they bent over their work, grunting from exertion. It was hard work, yes, but in the end, New Bodhum would be built and many families would be happily living in their homes. After all was said and done, it would seem as if nothing bad had ever happened in the first place.

"So, how was the wedding, Snow?" Maqui asked from under a newly-forming velocycle. His tone was nasal, sarcastic.

Snow looked over in the direction of the voice and chuckled at the blonde spikes sticking out from under the vehicle. From beside him, Gadot laughed heartily.

"Are you still mad you didn't get invited to the wedding, kid?" Snow asked jokingly. His gloved fingers gripped the wrench in his hands as he twisted a stubborn bolt into its rightful place. The small contraption in his palm was created by none other than Maqui. The kid, however, complained about having to deal with such delicate things. Snow, being the ever-so-helpful man he was, offered to help. But really, he wanted a break from the blistering heat of outdoor work.

Not moving from his position under his most current project, Maqui grumbled, "I thought we were friends." Louder this time, he rambled, "We've known each other for years! I look up to you, Snow, and you just betrayed me!" Dramatically, Maqui slid out from under the airbike and sat on the concrete floor of the new workshop. "Tell me, Snow, what were you thinking when you didn't invite me?"

Shrugging, Snow lifted his hands in defeat. "I wasn't in charge of the invitations. That was all Serah," Snow replied, a wide grin on his face. "But if it were up to me, I wouldn't have invited you, anyway. Serah and I shared a pretty_ intense_ kiss. I'm not sure kids should have been there to see it. Sorry, kid." Without any more of an explanation, Snow turned back to his creation at hand. Knitting his eyebrows together, he took in every detail of the small object. Supposedly, it was a tracking and locating device only to be used on velocycles. Snow wasn't really sure why the thing was needed; in a place like New Bodhum, there wasn't much to go to. It was a beach town. Always was, always would be, as many people would say. Brushing away the thought, Snow looked over the design for the model he was working on. All he had left was some wiring to do before it was finished. Along the way, he knew, there would be many kinks to work out, but he had a brilliant team of two to help him out with anything he needed. He smiled at the thought.

Everything was okay, finally.

Except for Serah.

The smile melted away.

Something was up, and not in the good way, with Serah. They hadn't been married a year yet—only seven months, by Snow's count—and already Serah was acting… off. He wasn't sure what it was. Serah had been avoiding eye contact lately, and even refused to kiss him goodnight. On top of that, she'd started leaving their bed in the middle of the night when she thought Snow was asleep. A few hours after she'd disappear, Snow would look in the living room to find Serah on the couch, sans blanket, with tear-stained cheeks. And in the morning, Serah would say good morning to him, like nothing had ever happened.

Her odd behavior had been going on for two or three weeks. It was starting to worry Snow, too. Usually, Serah would be so happy to wake up next to her husband; would be so excited every time they kissed. It was like everything they'd worked so hard to keep had just disappeared, vaporized into the very air they breathed.

Out loud, Snow sighed heavily, dropping his wrench. He put his head in his hands and heaved a sigh once again.

In the background of his thoughts, he dully noted Maqui going on about not being invited to his wedding. "…I look up to you! You're my idol! You're more than my idol! I honestly thought we were closer than that, Snow! And to think, all these—"

"I think there's something wrong with Serah," Snow said flatly. He tried to hold back any anger he held inside of him for as long as possible, but soon, he lost his temper. With a growl of frustration, he slammed his fist on the workshop counter. Maqui stopped his complaining instantly, his mouth closing with a comical 'snap' as he stared, wide-eyed, at Snow.

Gadot stopped what he was doing momentarily, but continued his work after a brief silence. Offhandedly, he piped up and suggested, "Maybe she's pregnant."

Snow lifted his head from his arms and looked at Gadot, shock apparent in his wavering gaze. He hadn't thought of something like that. In fact, the idea seemed absurd to him. Where the hell had that comment come from? He hadn't said what was wrong with Serah, so it couldn't have been that Gadot knew the symptoms or anything. Regardless of the randomness of his comment, it could have been true. It explained a lot. The wheels started turning in his head.

"I mean," Gadot went on after seeing Snow's unexpected expression, "I don't know what's wrong with her. It was just an idea. It might just be that time of the month or something."

Maqui stuck his finger in his mouth and fake-gagged. "Little ears in the room, Gadot! Watch what you say!"

Gadot looked wearily at the blonde on the floor. "You're always talking about how you're 'not some little kid' anymore. Why change your mind now?"

"I have circumstantial age!" Maqui insisted, standing up. "It's all the rage right now."

From his work spot, Snow whispered, "A family…"

Maqui looked at the man, surprised that he'd spoken. He'd almost forgotten about Snow until he said something. Grinning widely, he reached over and patted his shoulder. "You've always wanted a big, happy family, right, Snow?"

Snow's crystal blue eyes pierced Maqui's with an intensity that neither had known existed. "I don't want to bring a kid into this half-built world."

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><p><strong>AN: I decided to post today of all days because IT'S MY FANFICTION BIRTHDAY! I've been a member of FanFiction for TWO YEARS now! :)**

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><p><strong>Authoress' Note: What do you think? The ordering might be a little confusing if you haven't read the first story, but pretty much, it tells the day (to avoid confusion, of course!) and whose point of view it is. Tell me if it's confusing and I'll try to go back and fix it!<strong>

**Reviews please! :3**

**Ja ne! :D**


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Final Fantasy XIII, Angst, Romance